“Their strategic advice and practical support have helped us navigate a complex stakeholder landscape and build lasting relationships.”

— Senior Executive, Lower Thames Crossing

The £9bn Lower Thames Crossing required unwavering political and public support to advance through one of the UK’s most complex and closely scrutinised planning journeys. With overlapping national, regional and local interests, combined with a rapidly shifting political environment, the project demanded strategic direction and strong stakeholder management. 

Context & Circumstances

As the UK’s largest road project and the country’s longest road tunnels, LTC is a nationally significant scheme with bold ambitions around growth and carbon reduction. But to succeed, it had to be more than an engineering solution: it required strategic alignment with government priorities, industry engagement and visible support from political, business and community leaders. 

Solution

Infrastructure Matters developed and delivered a strategy that repositioned the project as a national priority. We redefined the narrative, aligned it with growth, levelling up and net zero, and embedded it into the agendas of ministers, officials, and industry leaders. Our team developed a milestone-driven engagement strategy, built durable relationships, and consistently secured support at the highest levels of government—insulating the project against political and fiscal risk.

Results
  • Built a strong and visible coalition of support across Whitehall, local government, and industry, ensuring the project’s resilience through multiple political cycles.
  • Maintained forward momentum through uncertainty, by creating compelling, credible reasons for stakeholders to back the scheme.
  • Drove messaging around key project milestones, achieving alignment with the Government’s wider infrastructure and economic goals.
  • Strategically positioned the project as a net-zero pathfinder, securing buy-in from senior officials and policymakers.

Most importantly, we enabled the submission of a robust DCO application underpinned by the trust and support of key stakeholders.